Carpentry guides & advice
Written from the work we do rather than from a keyword list. Each guide covers one specific question — why a door catches, whether a deck frame is worth keeping, what a lease says about your flooring — with enough detail that you can make a decision before anyone quotes you.
Costs & quotes
9 guides
Problems & repairs
12 guides
Materials & comparisons
12 guides
Planning, process & cost
9 guides
Property types & audiences
6 guides
Costs & quotes
What jobs cost and why, plus how to read a quote so you can compare two prices that describe different work.
How much does a carpenter charge, and what are you paying for?
Day rate, hourly rate or fixed price: which one you are quoted says a lot about the job.
What does it cost to fit a new door?
Hanging a door into an existing frame and fitting a full doorset are two very different jobs.
What makes fitted wardrobes cost what they cost?
Two quotes for the same wall can differ enormously, and it is almost always these five things.
What does a staircase renovation cost, and do you need a whole new stair?
Most tired staircases do not need replacing. Knowing the difference saves a large amount of money.
What does decking cost, and where does the money actually go?
Most of the budget on a deck is under it, not on top of it.
What does a garden gate cost to supply and fit?
The gate is often the cheap part. Posts, hardware and getting it hung square are where the work is.
What should a carpentry quote include?
A good quote is a description of the job with a number at the bottom, not just a number.
Cost to hang a door, and why two quotes can look nothing alike
Hanging a door and fitting a new door are two different jobs. Knowing which one you are buying is the whole story.
Flooring cost per square metre: reading the number properly
Per square metre pricing is useful for comparing materials. It tells you very little about what a finished floor will cost.
Problems & repairs
Diagnostic guides for things that have gone wrong — what causes them, which fixes actually last, and when a repair stops being worthwhile.
Internal door sticking or catching: what's actually causing it
Diagnosing the difference between a swollen door, a dropped hinge and a moved frame.
Creaking floorboards: tracing the noise and fixing it for good
Movement, not age, is what makes a floor talk.
Rotten door frames and sills: repair, splice or replace
Wet rot in a frame is a symptom. Fixing the timber without fixing the water is a short-term job.
Kitchen snagging: putting right the details a fit left behind
The carcasses are usually fine. It's the second fix that gives kitchens away.
Loose spindles, moving newels and handrail repairs
A staircase is a structure. When part of it moves, the load path has usually changed.
Bathroom doors that warp, swell or stop latching
One-sided moisture is the fastest way to bow a door leaf.
Decking repairs: is it the boards or the frame underneath?
Boards are the visible part. The frame is what decides whether a repair is worth doing.
Panelling that cracks, gaps or lifts after fitting
Panelling problems are nearly always moisture, movement or the wrong adhesive.
Warped or rotten timber: repair or replace?
Push a screwdriver into it. If it goes in easily, the timber is gone, and the question becomes how far.
Door dropping or binding: does it need planing or rehanging?
Planing a door that has dropped is the most common wrong fix. It works for a fortnight, then the gap is worse and the door is smaller.
Creaking stairs: what the noise is actually telling you
A creak is timber moving against timber. Find which two pieces are moving and the repair becomes obvious.
Gate dropping or dragging on the ground: what has gone wrong
A gate that has dropped is nearly always a post problem wearing a hinge problem's clothing.
Materials & comparisons
Straight comparisons of the materials and systems we work with, written around how they behave in real rooms rather than showroom marketing.
Engineered wood vs laminate: choosing by how the room is used
They look similar in a showroom and behave completely differently in a hallway.
Composite vs timber decking: the differences that actually matter
The choice changes the frame beneath as much as the surface on top.
MDF or solid timber for built-in joinery?
For painted fitted work, the 'cheaper' material is often the technically better one.
Choosing timber for outdoor work: species, treatment and detailing
The specification matters, but the detailing decides how long it lasts.
Solid, engineered or hollow-core: choosing internal doors
The core changes how the door sounds, how it hangs and what you can fix into it.
Wall panelling styles: what suits which room
The style you choose changes the setting-out, not just the look.
Herringbone flooring: what to know before you commit
The blocks are the easy part. Setting out is what makes or breaks the floor.
Softwood vs hardwood: which is right for your job?
The names describe the tree, not the toughness. What matters is where the timber is going.
Fitted or freestanding wardrobes: which suits your room?
The right answer depends on the shape of the room far more than on taste.
Types of garden gate, and which one suits your entrance
Side access, front garden and driveway are three different problems with three different gates.
Choosing a staircase style that suits the house
The balustrade sets the character. The rest of the flight usually stays where it is.
Engineered or solid wood flooring: which belongs in your room
Both are real wood. The difference is what sits underneath the surface, and that decides where each one can safely go.
Planning, process & cost
How jobs really run: the sequence, the decisions worth making early, and where the cost genuinely sits.
What actually drives the cost of a media wall
Two media walls the same size can differ enormously. Here's where the difference sits.
How a kitchen fit actually runs, stage by stage
Knowing the sequence tells you where the waiting happens and why.
Subfloor preparation: the invisible half of a floor installation
You never see it, and it decides almost everything about the finished floor.
How a garden room is built, from base to finish
The parts you can't see afterwards are the parts that decide if it's usable in January.
Alcove shelving that stays straight
Sagging shelves are a design problem, not a material problem.
Under-stair storage: what fits, and what actually works
The space is a triangle. The trick is choosing which part of it you can genuinely reach.
How to brief a carpenter so the quote is actually accurate
Most price changes mid-job trace back to something not known at quoting stage.
How long does a carpentry job actually take?
Fitting time is predictable. Everything around it is what makes jobs overrun.
Preparing a room before the carpenter arrives
Half an hour of preparation the night before can save an hour of paid time on the day.
Property types & audiences
Guidance shaped by property type and situation — period homes, flats, new builds and rented property each bring their own constraints.
Fire doors in rented property and HMOs
A fire door is a system. Fitting the leaf correctly is what makes it work.
Carpentry for landlords and letting agents
Rental property rewards specifications that survive turnover, not ones that photograph well.
Carpentry in Victorian and Edwardian homes
Nothing is square, and that's the starting assumption rather than a surprise.
Carpentry in flats and leasehold property
The constraints usually come from the lease, not the building.
New build snagging: the carpentry defects worth reporting
Knowing the difference between a snag and normal settlement makes your list far more effective.
Storage for small homes and awkward spaces
Freestanding furniture is designed for a rectangular room. Most rooms aren't.
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